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booksdogsandcoffee's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
3.75 stars
This was a moving story about stories. About how a young girl Isla who lost her father at a young age and begins to literally see her families stories play out before her. Cardinal whole heartedly captures the experience of not being American enough to fit in in America , but not being Puerto Rican enough to fit in Puerto Rico. This book also looked at classism, and touched a bit on how tourism impacts the island of Puerto Rico and its citizens. This book was a very good listen.
Cw
Death
Guns
Alcohol
Emotional abuse
Terminal illness
Racism
Bullying
Classism
This was a moving story about stories. About how a young girl Isla who lost her father at a young age and begins to literally see her families stories play out before her. Cardinal whole heartedly captures the experience of not being American enough to fit in in America , but not being Puerto Rican enough to fit in Puerto Rico. This book also looked at classism, and touched a bit on how tourism impacts the island of Puerto Rico and its citizens. This book was a very good listen.
Cw
Death
Guns
Alcohol
Emotional abuse
Terminal illness
Racism
Bullying
Classism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Racism, and Classism
sarah_thebooknerd's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
4.5 ⭐️
This book was wow. The FMC finds out she is a storyteller in her family meaning she can see peoples stories that are no longer here, however she doesn’t just see them she is in them and it puts her in a family murder mystery. The tension, writing style, discussion of colorism within the Latinx community and discussion of accountability really made for a good story.
CW: colorism, racism, bigotry, murder, alcoholism, emotional abuse
This book was wow. The FMC finds out she is a storyteller in her family meaning she can see peoples stories that are no longer here, however she doesn’t just see them she is in them and it puts her in a family murder mystery. The tension, writing style, discussion of colorism within the Latinx community and discussion of accountability really made for a good story.
CW: colorism, racism, bigotry, murder, alcoholism, emotional abuse
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Murder, and Alcohol
amandadevoursbooks's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
You know when a book arrives when you need it. The Storyteller's Death is this book for me.
We follow Isla from 8 to her teens as she grows up between New Jersey and Puerto Rico. After her grandmother's death, Isla begins having visions of stories. They're just slightly off from how they were told.
As Isla discovers more about her visions, she sees how classism, colonialism, and colorism impacts her family, community, and her history.
This book is so many things. It's a story about family secrets and the pain they cause and healing from unspoken. It's a mystery. It's a love song to Puerto Rico.
I loved it. I can't wait to read more from this author.
We follow Isla from 8 to her teens as she grows up between New Jersey and Puerto Rico. After her grandmother's death, Isla begins having visions of stories. They're just slightly off from how they were told.
As Isla discovers more about her visions, she sees how classism, colonialism, and colorism impacts her family, community, and her history.
This book is so many things. It's a story about family secrets and the pain they cause and healing from unspoken. It's a mystery. It's a love song to Puerto Rico.
I loved it. I can't wait to read more from this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Racism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
catwhisperer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bookdnbusy's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
this book and this author are INCREDIBLY underrated.
not only is ann dávila cardinal a fantastic writer, but she’d managed to bring nostalgia to me by the way she described the island, the food, the tastes, the sounds, the sights as if i didn’t grow up watching, feeling, and experiencing this myself up until a few years back when i made the tough decision of moving to the states.
the storyteller’s death tells the story of what happens when family secrets and bias are so deep-rooted into our ancestry that the domino effect that happens as each vital member passes on the grief and guilt, pain and trauma to the younger generation that at some point is as if staring at a tsunami wave growing and growing and growing but never really quite tumbles down until someone down the line decides that enough is enough.
there are a lot of heavy topics discussed in this book, mainly: racism, colorism, and classism, but it’s done from the point of view of our heroine, isla, over the span of ten years. she’s stuck between two worlds in which she does not feel a part of fully, despite spending part of her time with her mother’s family on the island. isla tells and shows how her family’s secrets and bias affect her, and how her own secret slowly eats away at her until the passing of her great-aunt. as we say back home, “esa fue la gota que colmó la copa” and as a reader, i was so proud to finally watch her blossom and take control and face everyone, including her mother!
i wanted to keep going, find out the truth myself, but i didn’t want it to end. i wanted more of isla, more of josé, more of maría, more of elena, more storyteller’s visions, and in the end it all comes together and leaves you feeling hopeful for her future, for her continuous learning and growth.
ann dávila cardinal wrote and told this story phenomenally, i even forgot that the entire book is written in isla’s perspective, even as a child we see a mature thought process from little isla and her search and desire to fit in and belong. ann’s way of comparing a toothless smile with empty spaces, describing the prickling sensation of the sun on your skin after a long beach day, and the filling sensation the starchiness of plantain leaves behind was refreshingly evocative and left me wanting and searching for more of her work.
do yourself a favor and pick up a copy for you, one for your friend, and one for a stranger, because you all deserve to live in isla’s world for a day or two.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Racism, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse, Vomit, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
Colorismgoldguardie's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I *loved* this book🥹🥹🥹
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Racism, and Alcohol
lit_with_lauren's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, and Death of parent